Wyrm Magic

Last time we had a theme week devoted to dragons, we gave you a collection of spells that were all about fighting dragons. This time, though, we’re taking the other side (after a fashion, anyway), and providing you with a selection of draconic magic that lets you harness the power of the dragon for yourself.

You channel some portion of the dragon whose tooth is used as a component into yourself, granting you a limited version of that dragon’s breath weapon for a short time. You gain a breath weapon which deals 1d6 points of damage per caster level to each creature in its area (to a maximum of 12d6 at 12th level). A successful Reflex save (DC equal to dragon breath’s saving throw DC) halves this damage. The type of damage dealt, as well as the area of the breath weapon, depends on the type of dragon whose tooth was used as a material component, as outlined on the table below.

Using the breath weapon is a standard action, although you can do it as a free action in the round that the spell is initially cast, if desired. After using the breath weapon, you cannot use it again for 1d4 rounds. You can use the breath weapon up to 1 time per 3 caster levels you possess (to a maximum of 4 times at 12th level), after which the spell is expended. If the spell’s duration ends before you have used all of your uses of the breath weapon, any remaining uses are lost.

Your body is covered in gleaming scales, matching those of the dragon whose scale was used as a material component. Your natural armor bonus to AC increases by +5, you gain DR 10/magic, and spell resistance equal to 10 + your caster level. Additionally, you gain 30 points of energy resistance. The type of energy that you resist is determined by the color of dragon whose scale was used as a material component for the spell, as outlined on the table below.

This spell allows the caster to draw upon a specially-prepared gem, into which a dragon has willingly imbued some of its own magical essence. Preparing a gem in this way requires one minute of concentration by the dragon, and imposes a temporary negative level on the dragon for 24 hours. Only a gem from the dragon’s own hoard can be prepared in this way, and even if the dragon is compensated for the loss of the gem (which must always be worth at least 100 gp), most dragons are still less than generous when it comes to creating them.

When the spell is cast, it draws the dragon’s power from the gem, consuming it in the process, and granting you special powers unique to the type of dragon that empowered the gem. The exact powers that you gain are summarized on the table below. Full descriptions of each ability can be found in the description of dragons of that particular color, in the Pathfinder Bestiary.

If an ability in the table lists a number of uses, that ability can only be used that many times during the spell’s duration. Otherwise, the ability can either be used at will, or is constantly active, depending on the nature of the ability. Your caster level for the purposes of these abilities is equal to your actual caster level. Similarly, any ability that references how many Hit Dice a dragon possesses also refer to your caster level for the purposes of this spell.